Pieri Workman Panthers continue roster roulette From Staff Reports

The preseason roster shuffle continued Tuesday for the Carolina Panthers.

The Panthers signed four free agents, waived two players, added two players to injured reserve and pulled the trigger on an expected trade. Carolina also added two players to its practice squad.

Signing with the Panthers were offensive tackle Jason Childs, safety Damon Pieri, running back Vince Workman and wide receiver Elbert Ellis. To accommodate the additions, the Panthers waived fullback Brian O'Neal and wide receiver Ray Ethridge, whom the team acquired last week in a trade with Cleveland. Carolina also placed defensive lineman Mike Teeter (shoulder) and rookie defensive back Mike Senters (ankle) on injured reserve, meaning the two players cannot play this season. Carolina also traded wide receiver Michael Bates to Cleveland for past considerations, namely linebacker Travis Hill, whom the team picked up in a trade with the Browns on Monday. Workman (5-10, 205) could be the best known of the quartet of signees, spending four seasons in Green Bay and the last two seasons with Tampa Bay. Workman's best season came in 1992, when he gained 631 yards and 4.0 yards per carry. Workman had 291 yards last season. The 6-5, 216-pound Ellis spent the last five weeks of the 1994 season with New England, although he was inactive. Ellis began 1994 with the Steelers, catching seven passes for 111 yards and a touchdown, but was cut during camp. A native of Durham, N.C., Ellis was a six-time All-American sprinter in college at Pittsburgh. Childs (6-4, 292) spent the preseason with San Francisco and has been in the camps of Seattle and Buffalo. Childs played collegiately at North Dakota. Pieri also spent the preseason with San Francisco before being waived. He played five games with the New York Jets in 1993 and played collegiately at San Diego State. The Panthers also added former Georgia Tech linebacker Jamal Cox and former Alabama linebacker Andre Royal to the practice squad. Royal began the preseason in Cleveland's training camp, while Cox spent time in the Bears' camp. The moves leave Carolina with 56 players heading into Sunday's season opener with Atlanta. The Cincinnati Bengals are considering making an offer to Barry Foster, cut on Monday by Carolina. General manager Mike Brown said the Bengals were discussing the possibility of signing Foster, another ex-Steeler but said he's uneasy about Foster after the Panthers released him. Ki-Jana Carter, who was supposed to be the No. 1 pick in the draft, is out for the season after knee surgery. "It would be tough to have even a very good player just play a third of the time for you because of injury," Brown said. "We like what our running backs did against the Jets. We will talk about Foster, but I don't want to race anyone's motor that we're going to go that way." Meanwhile, Pittsburgh coach Bill Cowher had little to say about Carolina's surprise decision. "It would be unfair for me to comment about Barry," Cowher said. "He was an integral part of this team when he was here. Time moves on, and so will the Steelers." PANMOV.ES